Review: Heroes Are My Weakness

I first picked up Heroes Are My Weakness at the book store months ago. I was able to read only one chapter, hungrily and quickly, before I had to leave. Like all great books, the story haunted me until I finally bought it. Susan Elizabeth Phillips is absolutely amazing and certainly one of my automatic-buys, so I knew I was going to love this book. I just wasn’t prepared for how the story developed. This one is a little different for her.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips has incredible dialogue. I mean, the characters have lines that leave me staring aghast at the page unable to think how someone thought of that retort. It never grows dull, it never becomes repetitive or whiny. It’s fast, gripping, hilarious and stunning. She can also wind a story and make turns that leave me shaking my head wondering how she did that. And, finally, she has amazing characters. Not just fully fleshed out but with really interesting back stories that I just love to discover.

This book has all of that…but it’s different. Really different.

Heroes Are My Weakness is the story of Annie and Theo. She’s on a remote island to try and keep a cottage as a source of funds. He’s a reclusive author with a very dark past. They both share a common history that is slowly revealed in the book. They also fall in love.

I keep saying that this one is different but how? Well, usually, with Susan Elizabeth Phillips, you get great humour, great dialogue and a fantastic love story. This one had all of that…and a mystery. It was a bit like reading Sandra Brown. I would come to the end of one chapter to find out something that made me gasp and turn, in desperation to the next chapter. I wasn’t ready for that with S.E.P. There was a villain and there was danger and people almost died…mostly myself with anxiety. I don’t do well with thrillers or fear. I have two huge dogs for a reason, people.

I’m not complaining. I was delighted with the book, loved it and couldn’t put it down. My hubby made dinner, we had company and all I did was read. Terrible and really rude–I know!–but if you pick up this book, you’ll understand. I couldn’t rest until I knew what was going to happen. It was one of those.

I particularly loved how the back story is revealed so slowly, organically, weaved carefully into the story so that the relevant pieces appear just when they’re pertinent and interesting to the reader. I never once resented that the book went into the past. I wanted to know what had happened because it had to do with the present in the story.

And I truly liked the characters. To me, they seemed both complete and perfectly flawed. They weren’t mouses who suddenly become lions, they kept their personality. Still they managed to step outside their comfort zones and grow into better people. The love story was completely believable and plausible.

I could really ramble on because there are facets of this book that are truly superior. The writing is absolutely fantastic and the humour made me laugh out loud. But this review is already ridiculously long. So, let me finish with with a recommendation. I’d recommend this for both contemporary fans and thriller fans. If you like Sandra Brown, or Nora Roberts this one is for you. Enjoy and let me know what you think! (But be brief, will you? No one likes some one who rambles on). 😀

(credit: goodreads.com)

Note: to go to site click here.